Picking up where Volume One left off, this sophomore collection of Hong Kong cinema classics draws together many of the best films from the final years of the Shaw Brothers studio, proving that while the end was nigh, these merchants of martial arts mayhem weren’t going to go out without a fight! Armed with stunning special features and ravishing new restorations, this boxset is even bigger and bolder than the last one.
We begin with kung fu master Lau Kar-leung’s instant classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, in which his adoptive brother Gordon Liu achieved overnight stardom as the young man who unexpectedly finds spiritual enlightenment on the path to vengeance; Lau and Liu followed the original with two comically inventive sequels, Return to the 36th Chamber and Disciples of the 36th Chamber, both included here. Already established as a genius at blending dazzling action with physical comedy, Lau himself plays the lead role in the hilarious Mad Monkey Kung Fu, coupled here with Lo Mar’s underrated Five Superfighters. Next, we once again meet Chang Cheh’s basher boy band the Venom Mob in no less than four of their best-loved team-ups: Invincible Shaolin, The Kid with the Golden Arm, Magnificent Ruffians and culminating in the all-star Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, co-starring Ti Lung and Fu Sheng.
After Lau brings us perhaps his best high-kicking comedy with My Young Auntie, a playful star vehicle for his real-life muse Kara Hui, we see Shaw Brothers fully embracing Eighties excess in our strangest double feature yet: Wong Jing’s breathtakingly wild shoot-‘em-up Mercenaries from Hong Kong, and Kuei Chih-hung’s spectacularly unhinged black magic meltdown The Boxer’s Omen. Last but certainly not least, Lau Kar-leung directs the last major Shaw production, Martial Arts of Shaolin, filmed in mainland China with a hot new talent named Jet Li in the lead role; it is paired in this set with The Bare-Footed Kid, a reverent remake of a Chang Cheh classic with Johnnie To (Running Out of Time) in the director’s chair and Lau back on fight choreography duties, in arguably the ultimate filmed tribute to Shaws’ everlasting cinematic legacy.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY COLLECTION CONTENTS
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all fourteen films, including nine new 2K restorations by Arrow Films
- Illustrated 60-page collectors’ book featuring new writing by David Desser, Jonathan Clements, Lovely Jon and David West, plus cast and crew listings and notes on each film by Simon Abrams
- New artwork by Mike Lee-Graham, Chris Malbon, Kagan McLeod, Colin Murdoch, “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien, Lucas Peverill, Ilan Sheady, Tony Stella, Darren Wheeling and Jolyon Yates
- Hours of never-before-seen bonus features including several cast and crew interviews from the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive
- Two CDs of music from the De Wolfe Music library as heard in several of the films, exclusive to this collection
DISC ONE – THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN
- Brand new 4K restoration by Celestial Pictures and L’Immagine Ritrovata
- Newly restored uncompressed Mandarin, Cantonese and English original mono audio
- Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Brand new feature commentary by critic Travis Crawford
- Brand new select-scene commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2003
- Interview with cinematographer Arthur Wong, filmed in 2006
- Shaolin: Birthplace of a Hero and Elegant Trails, two archive featurettes with Gordon Liu produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
- Tiger Style: The Musical Impact of Martial Arts Cinema, a newly filmed overview of Shaw Brothers’ influence on hip hop and other music genres, featuring music historian Lovely Jon
- Cinema Hong Kong: Swordfighting, the second instalment in a three-part documentary produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 and featuring interviews with Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, Cheng Pei-pei, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Kara Hui, David Chiang and others
- Alternate opening credits from the American version titled Master Killer
- Hong Kong and German theatrical trailers, plus US TV spot
DISC TWO – RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER / DISCIPLES OF THE 36TH CHAMBER
- Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
- Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2003
- Citizen Shaw, a French TV documentary from 1980 directed by Maurice Frydland, in which Sir Run Run Shaw gives an all-access tour of the Shaw Brothers backlot (including behind-the-scenes footage from Return to the 36th Chamber), remastered in high definition
- Hero on the Scaffolding, an archive featurette produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
- Alternate opening credits sequences for both films
- Hong Kong theatrical trailers for both films
- Image galleries for both films
DISC THREE – MAD MONKEY KUNG FU / FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS
- Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
- Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
- Brand new commentary for Mad Monkey Kung Fuby martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
- Newly filmed appreciation of Mad Monkey Kung Fu by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with actor Hsiao Hou, filmed in 2004
- Shaw in the USA, a brand new featurette on how Shaw Brothers broke America featuring Grady Hendrix and Chris Poggiali, authors of These Fists Break Bricks
- Hong Kong and US theatrical trailers for Mad Monkey Kung Fu
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer and UK VHS promo for Five Superfighters
- Image galleries for both films
DISC FOUR – INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN / THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM
- Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
- Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Invincible Shaolin
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
- Interview with action director Robert Tai, filmed in 2003
- Poison Clan Rocks The World, a brand new visual essay on the Venom Mob written and narrated by author Terrence J. Brady
- Alternate "continuity" cut of The Kid With The Golden Arm, presented via seamless branching
- Alternate and textless title sequences for The Kid with the Golden Arm
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Invincible Shaolin
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer (audio only) and US TV spot for The Kid with the Golden Arm
- Image galleries for both films
DISC FIVE – MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS / TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG
- Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
- Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
- Brand new audio commentary on Ten Tigers of Kwangtung by filmmaker Brandon Bentley
- Interview with star Chin Siu-ho, filmed in 2003
- Rivers and Lakes, a brand new video essay on Shaw Brothers’ depiction of Chinese myth and history, written and narrated by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China
- Hong Kong (audio only) and German theatrical trailers for Magnificent Ruffians
- Hong Kong trailers (Mandarin and Cantonese audio options) and US TV spot for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
- Image galleries for both films
DISC SIX – MY YOUNG AUNTIE
- Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio
- Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Brand new select-scene commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with star Kara Hui, filmed in 2003
- Cinema Hong Kong: The Beauties of the Shaw Studios, the final instalment in the three-part documentary produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
- Alternate standard-definition VHS version
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer
DISC SEVEN – MERCENARIES FROM HONG KONG / THE BOXER'S OMEN
- Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
- Uncompressed Cantonese and Mandarin original mono audio for both films plus English mono for Mercenaries from Hong Kong
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Brand new commentary on The Boxer’s Omen by critic Travis Crawford
- Newly filmed appreciation of filmmaker Kuei Chih-hung by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Additional footage from Mandarin VHS version of The Boxer's Omen
- Interview with Mercenaries from Hong Kong action director Tong Kai, filmed in 2009
- Hong Kong theatrical trailers for both films
- Image galleries for both films
DISC EIGHT – MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN / THE BARE-FOOTED KID
- Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
- Brand new commentary on Martial Arts of Shaolinby Jonathan Clements
- Brand new commentary on The Bare-Footed Kidby Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival
- Newly filmed appreciations of both films by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with Martial Arts of Shaolin screenwriter Sze Yeung-ping, filmed in 2004
- Alternate standard-definition version of Martial Arts of Shaolin
- Hong Kong and Japanese theatrical trailers for Martial Arts of Shaolin, plus trailers for the preceding Shaolin Temple films starring Jet Li
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer and UK VHS promo for The Bare-Footed Kid
- Image galleries for both films
DISC NINE – MUSIC FROM THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS, INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN AND THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (CD)
DISC TEN – MUSIC FROM RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER, MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS, TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG, MY YOUNG AUNTIE, MERCENARIES FROM HONG KONG AND DISCIPLES OF THE 36TH CHAMBER (CD)
